A travelling mum says there’s one detail she wishes she’d thought more carefully about before buying her latest caravan — and it’s something many first-time buyers overlook.
As Josie Male and her husband Jordan hunt for their fourth caravan in less than two years, she told Yahoo News she wishes they’d properly considered how they would actually use it.
While the mum-of-two said that caravanning is typically considered a “cheaper holiday”, getting equipped has been an expensive task.
Their first purchase was a $9,000 camper trailer that they quickly realised wasn’t big enough for their growing family.
Within months, they upgraded to a Jayco pop-up caravan for $38,000. While it ticked many boxes, it was lacking a bathroom, and the couple eventually decided to upgrade to a bigger van with its own amenities.
Their third and current caravan, priced at $67,000, is spacious and comfortable, and Josie thought they were set — until an off-grid trip earlier this year to Moreton Island made the family realise they wanted to have more off-road adventures.
The couple started with a camper trailer (left), and then a pop-up caravan (right).
(Josie Male, Instagram/thecaravanmum)
“We purchased our caravan with the intention of going to caravan parks. We didn’t think we’d ever do the whole off-grid kind of thing,” Josie, 32, told Yahoo News.
“But one of my best friends convinced us to try it, and we absolutely loved it.
“We loved being remote and literally parked on the beach. You’d wake up, put your swimmers on and go for a swim before breakfast. It was amazing, especially with the kids.”
Caravan not suited for off-grid adventures
While their friends’ fully equipped off-grid caravan comfortably lasted the five-night trip, Josie said her family was constantly trying to conserve water and power.
“Because they love the off-grid stuff and that’s all they do, they weren’t running out of water. They had enough power. They were more set up for it,” she said, adding she would even have to ask them if she could charge her phone in their van.
Their current caravan has 340W of solar, 240Ah of battery capacity and two 90-litre fresh water tanks.
They’re now searching for a van with at least 800W of solar, 400Ah of battery capacity and three 100-litre water tanks to support longer stays away from caravan parks.
The family love getting away for short trips, but would ultimately love to do a lap of Australia.
(Josie Male, Instagram/thecaravanmum)No regrets on their caravan journey
Looking back, Josie said she wishes she’d spent more time thinking about how her family wanted to travel, but ultimately has no regrets about their journey.
“I feel like what we’ve done has led us to where we are, but then I also just feel like it is really annoying — the whole selling and rebuying is an absolute nightmare,” she said.
The family’s current van, pictured, is fantastic for caravan parks, but less suitable for off-grid travel.
(Josie Male, Instagram/thecaravanmum)
“We didn’t know how much we would love it until we started it, so I guess that’s been a lesson for us.
“It is stuff that I wish we had thought about before buying this one. Had we thought about that stuff — which we’ve only been able to think about because of the travel we’ve done — then we would have probably purchased differently this time,” she said.
Josie also advised those looking to purchase a caravan to think practically in terms of layout and storage, rather than things like colour palettes.
While the family has an exciting few months ahead with the arrival of their third child, they would eventually love to complete a lap of Australia one day.
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